I DNF’d this book at 56% because it made me uncomfortable. While labeled as a romance, it felt more like a story of messy, toxic relationships. Themes like accidental pregnancy, miscarriage, cheating, gaslighting, and constant lying dominated the plot (without a single trigger warning too). The aggressive fighting, especially early on, was amplified by the audiobook narration, which made it feel even more intense.

Thank you NetGalley, RBmedia, and Anna Black’s team for the audiobook ARC.

So freaking cute!!! I was hooked from the first minute! The narration was wonderful. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this audiobook.

I was very excited for this book, but I couldn't read past 28%. The blurb is very misleading. I was expecting most of the story to take place in the airport during their flight delay, but that was such a small part of the first 28%.

The timeline of this audiobook was confusing. In a physical book/ebook flashbacks can be italicized to show the reader timeline, but this audiobook didn't have clear indicators of where things were in the timeline which made it confusing.

With the way things were written I didn't care for the relationship between the characters and nothing was making me root for them to get back together.

The rest of my review will include things that should have had trigger warnings provided so if you don't want to know feel free to stop reading now.

I think it's irresponsible to not include trigger warnings with this title. I checked the ebook on Kindle unlimited to see if they were just missed in the audiobook and they aren't available there either. I myself do not have these triggers, but I was upset on behalf of my friends who could have picked this up only to have no warning of their triggers.

I could handle cheating, infertility, and pregnancy not having trigger warnings.... I don't love that they were not given for these, but the final straw leading me to dnf this book was when the FMC had an ON PAGE miscarriage without any indication to expect that from the blurb.

Also, someone who tried to get pregnant for YEARS would definitely know that "2 weeks pregnant" would be when conception occurs and not when you find out you're pregnant. That took me out of the story a bit.

The narration was good. I had no issues with the audiobook production.

Thank you NetGalley, RBmedia, and Anna Black’s team for the audiobook ARC.

🎶Siri play: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together by Taylor Swift🎶

I truly had high hopes for this story, but soon found out it would be one of my top worst reads of this year. I’m truly torn up to even write this review, but I will be paying forth a completely honest review to hopefully inspire others to not be scared to voice if they didn’t enjoy something they’ve read.

The story follows FMC Z and MMC Marcus who are both infatuated with one another; that is until Z gets an opportunity to go to culinary school a few states away and will be gone for 13 months. Which puts an end to their relationship. Ten years pass and the MC’s run into each other at an airport after their flight has been cancelled. What seems like fate brought them back together turns out they each are very much have moved on and are committed to their respective partners. Turns out the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Z and Marcus go through hell and back, but finally get another stab at rekindling their relationship.

✌🏻Dual POV
🤰🏾Accidental Pregnancy
💋Cheating
👼🏾Child Loss/Infertility
🥈Second Chance Romance
😱Deception/Lies/Secrets
💍Marriage of Convenience + Distress
🤫Hidden Truth
😮Sexual Assault (Rape)


Way too much going on in one book! I’m always down for a book that will keep me busy or engaged, but everything that was thrown into the book was just too much. What the author thought was great components turned into a recipe for disaster🔥 It was one thing after the other and I couldn’t take it anymore. To start there should’ve been a TW’s page before starting this… the plot and characters were so underdeveloped as well.

The characters were all so unlikable and toxic it made me sick🤢 The MC’s didn’t act their age and were immature. I feel the MC’s didn’t deserve each other or anything else that happened in the entirely of this book. It brought me back to the days where I’d see Maury playing on the tv and thinking wtf am I witnessing. Who in their right mind actually enjoys this crap.

The writing was unstructured, sloppy, unbelievable, etc. The simple fact the characters were ALL colored (lack of diversity) but that’s not what bothered me. It was the way they were written. All I heard was the ‘N’ word on repeat and the unlimited profanity. It was very uncomfortable… I was happy to see colored MC’s on the cover, but not so they can be portrayed as damn fools. It gives a negative connotation on the black community and I just can’t stand that.

For an author whose primary work is writing about colored characters it seems like this was the first book she’s EVER written. I hope the author can see how powerful her words are once they’ve reached printed pages.

Unfortunately I would not recommend this book or the author to anyone. For now, the only thing delayed is the author’s ability to right a good prose.

#LoveDelayed #NetGalley

**Review of *Love Delayed* by Anna Black (Audiobook)**

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*Love Delayed* by Anna Black is an emotionally compelling romance that will resonate with fans of heartfelt stories about second chances and personal growth. The audiobook, narrated with passion and nuance, draws you in from the start as it explores the complex dynamics between the main characters, Jada and Mike.

The plot revolves around love that comes at the wrong time, and the challenges that arise when timing and personal circumstances complicate relationships. Anna Black does a great job of capturing the emotional tension between the two leads, and the author’s writing keeps you invested in their journey. The chemistry between Jada and Mike is palpable, and the book does a wonderful job of exploring themes of forgiveness, healing, and rediscovery.

The narration is where this audiobook truly shines. The voice actor delivers a strong performance, bringing each character's emotions to life with depth and authenticity. The pacing is steady, and the transitions between different emotional beats are handled with care, making it an engaging listen from start to finish.

If you're a fan of romance with a touch of drama and a lot of heart, *Love Delayed* is a great pick. The only reason I’m not giving it five stars is that the pacing felt a little slow in certain parts, but overall it’s a solid listen that delivers a satisfying, emotional payoff.

Highly recommend for anyone looking for an audiobook that balances romance with real-life struggles and emotional depth!

First of all, I would like to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me this arc for an honest review.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars.

This unfortunately was not for me. To me, it felt more like a chaotic reality TV show than a book. The expressions on my face were changing constantly because of the jumps and shifts that happened in this book.

In the end, I couldn't connect with the characters and their story. I am sure someone would find the drama that happened here engaging but it was just too much for me.

2.5 ⭐

Not my cup of tea.
I couldn't connect to the characters, I kind of hated the narrating voice of the FMC and still don't understand the necessity of the second female POV. Her story could have been told with the MMC pov.
The whole airport plot was just a very brief mention while I thought it was an integrating part of it. I was convinced most of the book took place that night at the airport.

Just generally disappointed.
It's not a bad book but I just didn't like it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for providing me with a free arc of this in the audiobook version for an honest review 🤍

This audiobook lacked romance. It was not for me. It just seemed like it was about childish people who were married/engaged/dating other childish people. It seemed like every relationship was forced including Marcus and Z. There was no tension that I normally enjoy. Everyone was pregnant and it just all seemed so odd to throw this into every portion of the story.

The narrators are great! I listened at 1.75 times. The narrators were the saving grace for this audiobook.

I finished this within a couple of hours and I loved the swoon’s characters and the banter! The it’s always been you and the ending!!

2.5 stars

This has the potential to be a good second-chance romance, but it missed the mark. The storyline was confusing, and the characters weren't developed. As a result, I was not invested in the story. It was messy and some of it was weighted down with unnecessary details. I would love to read/listen to this again if there would be a revision.

Love Delayed
Anna Black
We mainly focused on the couples' story after their breakup. This might be interesting for some people, not everyone tho. I liked how they planned the way that the two separate couples broke up and how the main couple got together after 10 years apart. That was the most interesting part. The main female character gets pregnant and something unexpected happens. I haven't had a lot of books with the pregnancy trope in it. Most books that I read have the pregnancy at the end. I like the business side of this story as well. I like how the male character treated the main female character.
I loved both the main characters' energies and how they solved their problems. Although how they solved their problems was a bit questionable at times. The overall message of the book is quite strong, fulfilling relationships. What relationships offer and what a stable relationship can be.
Overall: 4 stars. Well done to the author.

I loved the premise of this book, but it really fell short of expectations. Many situations felt a bit unbelievable. The characters were not developed enough to really connect with and therefore I felt really uninvested in the story. The religious aspects of the book were very abrupt and incongruous. Also, the language is terrible. I can usually skim over cursing in literature but the level in this book was distracting. Graphic sexual scenes and conversation including a sexual assault. Would not recommend.

I really enjoyed this story. It was a sweet second-chance romance about two successful people who reconnect after ten years and realize they still have feelings for each other. It wasn't overly dramatic, but it captured the warmth and simplicity of rediscovering love after all that time.

I listened to it while making biscuits, and it made for the perfect background. The story was light and engaging, with just the right amount of emotion to keep me interested without being too heavy.

It was a pleasant and enjoyable listen, perfect for a quiet afternoon or whenever you're in the mood for a nice, feel-good story.

This book started off not making sense to me. Marcus wasn't wrong. It was a selfish decision and had me not liking the main female character/Zamora. I get where the author was trying to go with self love and pursuing your dreams. The writing seemed really basic. Tons of exposition. I just could never really get into it.

I'm really not understanding the reviews for this book. The audiobook was entertaining. The narrators did a good job. Messy stuff happens in this book, but messy stuff happens in life. I enjoyed it. 4 ⭐️

Many thanks to Net Galley and RB Media for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the story, and while I predicted the ending, the ride there had some great scenes. There were frequent religious mentions - I didn’t feel like it added to the story at all, and I know it would put off some readers. But if that doesn’t bother you, it’s a wonderful story.
The audio wasn’t great, but wasn’t terrible. Just wish it was duet not dual voice. Both narrators do their parts really well but don’t do each others parts well and at times their voices are on the wrong POV for what they’re saying.

This was a DNF for me after 35%. I found the timeline jumped around too much. I like the idea of former lovers reuniting in an airport, but I felt like it was very repetitive in the dialogue. The mmc seemed to degrade women at times with certain comments. Medical inaccuracies surrounding the pregnancy (ie 2 weeks pregnant is actually the time in your cycle when you ovulate). Again, I think it could be good, but needs more work. 1.5 stars rounded up.

I really struggled with this book but I think a big part of the problem was the discrepancy between the synopsis and the actual story. The blurb said something like "Ten years later, they have one night to catch up" which set me up for a story set in an airport where former lovers get a second chance at romance while being stuck at the airport after a canceled flight. I was under the impression that this was going to be a chance catch up over bad airport food leaving two people now living totally separate lives to decide very quickly what that means. What I actually got is a very dramatic story full of surprise pregnancies, sudden relocations, cheating, extreme religious tones (which didn't exactly mesh with the surprise pregnancies or any of the characters' behaviors)..... it was just a lot. There seemed to be a ton of different stories going on here, the dialogue was not very realistic, none of the characters were especially likeable. The narrators both made it seem even more dramatic and less heartfelt. It just felt very all over the place. Still, I think the primary problem is the misleading description. This book would be much better marketed to people looking for drama, I don't think it hits with the second chance romance crowd the way it wants to.

This story unfortunately was very difficult to get through. Both characters had a lack of good communicating skills and maturity during their initial breakup. While they were broken up, they made questionable choices with significant others. The timeline was very difficult to follow. The religious portion was also confusing as the characters behavior did not follow that of a Christian so it was difficult to buy in and felt like an after thought

**Review of *Love Delayed* by Anna Black**
⭐️⭐️

Unfortunately, *Love Delayed* missed the mark for me. The central theme of adultery is explored through characters who are portrayed as victims of cheating, yet the narrative often tries to justify their own infidelity. The idea that they can emotionally excuse their actions because of rediscovered love from the past didn’t sit well with me. It felt like a weak justification for behavior that’s difficult to empathize with.

The storyline itself was hard to overcome, and the writing did not help elevate it. I kept hoping it would improve, but ultimately, it didn't. It was not the second-chance romance I expected, and the emotional depth I was hoping for was lacking.

I really wanted to enjoy this story, but it just wasn’t for me. Thanks to NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.